Stoker



June 12, 1928 1,673,618

L.L.CLOSE STOKER Filed Feb. 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 grwemloz LeonardL 5105a 6mm in,

Patented June 12, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD LEROY CLOSE, 013 AUBURN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO AUBURN FOUNDRY COR- PORATION, OF AUBURN, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

sroxnn Application filed February 5, 1925. Serial m. 7,142.

My said invention relates to a stoker and it is an object of the same to provide a power operated device of this character which shall be economical in the use of fuel and which shall prevent smoke.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a furnace provided with the stoker of my invention,

Figure 2, a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Figure 3, a detail plan of a connecting rod shown in Figure 2, on an enlarged scale, and

Figure 1, a side elevation of the parts shown in Figure 3.

In the drawings reference character 10 indicates the furnace which has a front wall 11 in front of which the forward port-ion of the furnace extends. Such forward portion comprises a supporting part 12, a hopper feed 13 and a ram 14. The hopper feed has a bottom 15 inclined toward the furnace and a vertical wall 16 at the side next to the furnace wall. A feed opening is provided at the rearward end of the inclined bottom 15 underneath which is a plate 17 inclined toward the furnace.

A pusher 18 slides along the inclined plate 17 to force the fuel of! the plate whence it falls down on the horizontal coking plate 19. The pusher 18 is so arranged as to constitute a gate closing the aperture in the feed hopper when in its forward position while the rear face acts to push the fuel off the plate 17. As shown in Figure 2 the pusher when in its rearmost position remains at some distance from the end of the plate; i. e., the rearward end of the plate constitutes a preliminary coking ledge where such fuel as is not pushed off onto the coking plate 19 will receive a preliminary coking action from theh'eat of the furnace.

The plate 17 has perforations indicated at 20 to provide ventilation for the fuel on the coking ledge and the coking plate so that the gases arising from the fuel shall be thoroughly consumed. In some instances the ventilating openings at 20 may be omitted according to the nature of the coal. The ram 14 is just below the vertical portion of the plate 17 and preferably has a pocket at th forward and filled with fire-clay as indt ed to a link which at its foremost end is attached to a rockarm 33 whereby the grate bars of the front section may be rocked into positions corresponding to that of grate bar 28 if desired. In practice it is seldom necessary to move the grate bars 26 since the operation of the ram will force the entire body of fuel along the coking grate and the main grate to a sutlicient extent. for the purposes of combustion. v y

The upper or front section of the main grate may comprlse any number of bars 26 as may be convenient for the purpose and the rear sectlon consisting of a greater or less number of bars 28 serves to move the rear part ofthe fuel bed as for advancing the fuel, when substantially burnt out, to the dump plate at the rear end of the fur nace. The grate bars 28 are pivotally connected to a link 32 which is secured at its front end to a lever 31 by which the bars may be actuated. It may be noted in this connection that fixed grate bars 34 are in terposed between the rocking grate bars and that the rocking bars have their forward edges reduced in such a manner that the rocking ofthe bars tends to lift the fuel bed and urge it forward without breaking through the same. I

Operating means for the ram 14 are found on the plate 12 above the pivots of the levers 31 and 33, said means comprising rockshafts 35 hearing rockarms 36spaced from each other and connected to-the rams near opposite sides of the same by means of links 37. Each of the rockshafts has at its end nearest the adjacent side of the furnace a spur gear 38 meshing with a larger spur gear 39 pivotally mounted on plate 12 and a socket i0 is secured to each of said spur gears 39. When it is desired to operate a ram, a han ileuf waveuieat length inserted in a Lit) socket to whcretuion the fireman may rock the handle to slide the ram backward 01' forward.

l ly the arrangement shown it is possible to actuate either one of the two rams indicated in Figure l individually or they may both be operated simultanermsly according to preference.

Means for operating the pushers 18 is also tound at the tront ot' the furnace and said means comprises pret'eral'ily an electric motor which may be arranged to drive the shaft ll. directly or may drive a belt passing over a. pulley on said shatt. it being understood of course that steam or water power or the. like may be substituted for the electrie motor it? preferred.

The ha't't 41 has a beveled Lear meshing with a beveled near it? on an upright shaft which in turn is connected to the driven shaft .4- by reducina' gears running in oil in a casinp to. The shat't ti carries eccentrics -16 operating on pitmcn l7 connected to rockarms 48 pivoted on a rod -19. The rockarms are shaped as yokes extending over the ends ot the pitmen 47. Rockarms 50 are also pivoted on the rod 11-9 and these rockarms are adjustably connected to rockarms -1 by means of set screws 51 engaging in notches arranged in a series on the upper faces of the rockarms 48. Obviously this a1- rangelnent permits adjustment of the position of the pusher 18 relative t the position of its eccentric 4-6 and thus the starting and finishing positions ot the stroke of the pusher may be varied.

An a rrantrement is also provided whereby the length of the stroke of the pushers may be varied and this comprises a set screw 52 having): threaded engacement with an intermediate portion at the upper end of the yoke-shaped rockarm 50 which, as will be seen in l 'ie'ure 2. has arms extending atopposite sides of those oi" the yoke-shaped rockarm 49 and a portion extending over the upper tace ot the roekarm 4.8 in which portion the set screw 5], is mounted. The set: screw 52 may be connected as by a. swivel connection to the front end of a connecting rod 53 which carries pins 54 mounted to slide in slots 55 of rockarm 50.

The onnecting rod 53 is termed in two secti ns ("1 and 71 having flattened parts overlying each other which parts are connected to each other by a bolt 56 and are normally held in place by means of a coiled spring 57 hearing on the section a said coiled spring surrounding the bolt and hearing at its lower end on an extension oi the section (a mounted to slide between guides 59 on section 7). The extension is slotted at 60. This connection permits the two sections to yield in case the movement of the pusher 18 is iirevented by a stone or other obstruction, when the give-way or throw-out joint, permits the oscillating arm to continue its operation while the combined gate and pusher remains stationary until the obstruction has been removed. 'lransverse members (it, which may be t'ormed as anti-friction rollers are locatial under the extension 5a to prevent, excessive it'riict-ion and eonsetpicnt, binding, as by reason of rust or grit in the joint. -In the operation of my device the pusher 18 is moved to and fro slowly by the motor driven shalt it} which may be operated at about t- R. P. M. Adjustment having been made for the length and position of stroke according to the nature of fuel the device may be set in operation and will permit a certain amount 01 coal to fall on plate 17 which is forced oil the plate in greater or less part and falls on the coking plate 19. Some of the coal will remain on the l dg i: at the rear end of plate 17 and be partially coked before its passage from said blate, and this operation is maintained continuously while the turnace. is working. Meantime the. ram 14 is operated at intervals in the discretion of the fireman to push the fuel torward oti' the coking grate and usually this will be done in two or more steps so that; the ignited fuel is forced gradually oil the coking grate pushing ahead of it; the body of fuel on the main grate. in many cases this operation will sutiice to carry the ashes and clinker-s to the dump grate but it not the lower or rcarmost; section con'iprising bars 2% is operatedv to cover the dump grate and it may be. necessary to operate the front sec-- tion comprising the bars Qtl. When the rain 14 is returned to the position shown in Fig ure 2 the fuel which has accunnilated upon the upper taco ol the ram will tall on the coking grat I and coking action oi said tool will continue until it in turn is 'lorced outonthe main grate.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing trom the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specitieatirm but only as indicated in the appended claim.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire t o secure by Letters Patent is:

The combination in a turnaoc having a front wall. of a stoker comprising a main grate. a coking plate at the end ol said grate at'ljacent the il ront wall, a floor pieco supporting one end 01 said, coking plate and extending torwardly ot the :turnacc wall, rollers mounted in said floor piece, a ram disposed normally without: the t'urnacc and slidable on said rollers for pushing :Eucl oil the coking plate, a hopper above the coking plate an inclined plate disposed below said hopper and extending beyond the hopper and into the furnace, at pusher slidahle lJcit U Hit)

tween said hopper and said inclined plate for feeding charges of fuel from the hopper onto the coking plate, said inclined plate having its lower end extending downwardly in close proximity to said ram and being perforated to permit ventilation, power operating means adapted to continuously reciprocate said pusher, and independent means for manually operating said ram, substan tially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Auburn, Indiana, this 31st day of January, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-five.

LEONARD LEROY CLOSE. 

